Do you tip restaurant servers for an infant?

[epjenk]

Maybe a dumb question and I don't want to sound like a cheapskate, but I am on the 2 week reposition with my son-to-be that will be about 6 months old. He won't be eating or drinking anything, so I'm not clear why I would tip the restaurant servers for him?

 

[jgalecpa]

This is a definite "It depends"

On the one hand, The server depends on $x's from each place setting at the table. Thus, if the child takes a place at the table, a tip should be given.

On the other hand, if the server doesn't do/provide anything to the child, some would argue no tip is necessary.

Personally, I believe your server is going to help the child and mom and dad in ways you don't expect.

From making the child laugh, to warming items, there are many services they will provide.

I would definitely plan on tipping, as you can bet your server is going to make you and your son-to-be's meal more enjoyable.

My two cents


Jim

PS Double congrats on the upcoming child AND cruise

 

[gassmandy]

I agree with the fact that, while the infant isn't eating a meal, the server may do a lot for him/her. We went in November and our daughter was 7 1/2 months old so we were "trying" things w/ her (bananas, sweet potatoes). Not too many things as she had no teeth (and at 13 months only has 2!! ). So they always brought a bunch of mashed up items for her.They also brought her spoons to make "music" with, straws to bite, etc. They were excellent and we tipped for her, also. We would have tipped for her regardless, though.

 

[CamColt]

I had the same question a few years back when we cruised with my then 8 month old. I was told yes I should tip for him, but I just couldnt figure out why....until we actually cruised. Our waiters were wonderful with DS. They talked to him, played with him, made puppets out of napkins for him, one even carried him around the restaurant with him one night. He loved him. This of course made dinner easier for the rest of us, LOL!
For weeks after we returned I would say to DS"Wheres Iggy(our waiter)?" and he would look around and laugh.
From our experience I would say they earned DS's tip.

 

[dzneprincess]

Also, if your baby is anything like mine with food, think of the mess on the floor that baby makes while eating. UGH Definitely TIP and tip well! loL

 

[webray]

I have to agree, if you are taking the baby to dinner with you, tip and tip well.

 

[CACruiser]

If your waiters make your dining experience a pleasant one for all of you, then yes you should tip! You really are not tipping per person, but per day! (At least that is how we tip!)

At 6 mos, your baby may be trying new foods like fruits and crackers. Those things make a mess and your servers will clean it up. They work really hard!!

LisaCA

 

[invaderzim]

We did not travel with an infant, but on our last two cruises, there were some infants in the dining room and the waiters did everything from taking bottles back to the kitchen to warm up, to even warming up baby food jars and even trying to make them laugh when they cried or helping Mom and Dad with their dinners while trying to entertain the baby.

They deserve every bit of their tips. They work very hard -- six months on, two months off. They are required to set up and cleaning the dining rooms after the last sitting (which usually ends around 10:30 p.m.) and then be up at 6:00 a.m. on their rotation days to help with room service and breakfast in the restaurants. They, to me, are an amazing group of people because I have never once experienced any of them take out their tiredness or irritation on anyone either in the dining rooms or lounges.

 

[lillygator]

we just returned and we tipped for our 18 month old who only went to one dinner with us....

 

[dis4me]

YES Definiely plan on tipping for your infant. Our server carried our 6 mos old ds around the dining room while she was dancing. She brought him every imaginable food mashed to try and I am sure she cleaned A LOT up after him. We tipped one and a half times the reccomended amount for our family of five and they definately deserve it.

 

[2xcruiser]

We went with a 9 mo in 1999 and did not tip - we were part of a large group (10 people) and the servers did very little for our child (we really never asked them to). The infant was "free" (other than taxes), so we didn't feel compelled to tip as he wasn't a paying or eating customer, but you should use your own judgement. If we had gotten the "dancing" treatment like dis4me, we may have tipped!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

If the servers are serving as described here, I would tipped b/c they are going above and beyond.

Think about it...in a regular restaurant, we don't purchase food for our children until they are 3 or so--so they usually share our plate. That keeps the check low and the food not wasted...HOWEVER, my munchkins tend to drop more food on the floor than is necessary. #1, bad or good etiquette--I try to clean up some of the mess as I feel bad for the server/busboy. #2, we definitely try to tip closer to 20% to compensate for the mess--if the service was worth it and especially if the mess is HUGE.

Same deal on the cruise...you only paid port charges for the infant...but if they dine with you, and are not getting ignored by the staff--then the staff deserves tipping. How you do it is at your discretion. If baby sleeps during the meal, makes no mess, hasn't been served, or is at Flounder's--tipping may not be necessary. If baby is an active participant at the table and being served--then the server and especially bus boy/girl (do they have these on DCL?) are totally earning that tip. To not tip would be taking their good service for granted.

 

[MrsPete]

I lean towards "no" on tipping for a six-month old. Why? A six-month old isn't going to be feeding himself; thus, there won't really be much of a mess to clean up. At six months, my daughters were mainly on breastmilk, and they only had a few spoonfuls of veggies here and there. Now if we were talking about 12 month olds, that'd be a different story. When my girls were 6 months old, they never ate IN a restaurant. They always ate JUST BEFOREHAND so that my hands would be free during the meal. Having just had a meal, they'd be very happy during dinner. I'd take along toys, etc. for them, but they never had food in a restaurant at that age.

If your habits are like mine, I'd say there's no need to tip for a six-month old. If yours are different, adjust accordingly.

 

[piglet33]

Yes, I would tip. My daughter was 11 months when we cruised, and I tipped for her too. Even though she ate before we went to dinner, the servers still played with her in between serving meals. Our servers were great anyway, so I had no problems leaving them extra money.

Reneé

 

[minniemouse1]

My daughter was 10 mos old on our 1st cruise and I believe we tipped half for her. They really did nothing special for her and she only went to 2 dinners. I fed her in our room before dinner or brought baby food for her. She might of eaten bread once but there was no special attention paid to her in our minds that deemed a whole tip from us. ON our second cruise we had a 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 yo and tipped above the suggested rate for them. Our servers were WONDERFUL and deserved every penny.